


Looks Good on You

by OtterlyDeerlightful



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Brief JARVIS, Fluff and Angst, Hints toward bedtime fun if you squint, Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:53:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28800888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OtterlyDeerlightful/pseuds/OtterlyDeerlightful
Summary: Tony learns why all of his penthouse lights have been turned off. It's not a reason he had expected.
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Comments: 19
Kudos: 170





	Looks Good on You

The penthouse was dark. Impossibly dark; even the emergency lighting was absent. Tony mentally double-checked that, yes, he _had_ arrived by elevator, so the electricity clearly hadn’t magically gone out between his short trip from his workshop to the living room.

“JARVIS?” he asked uncertainly as his fingers itched to activate the nanites humming expectantly against his chest.

_“Yes, Sir.”_

Okay, at least JARVIS was still online. That was good, at least. Tony let himself partially relax with that knowledge.

“Mind telling me why it feels like I’m on the dark side of the moon?” he asked.

_“Master Loki has requested that all lights in the penthouse be turned off and all windows covered, Sir.”_

And…back to weird again. Loki didn’t like the dark. Sure, he put on his brave _I’m-above-you-puny-mortals_ face and all that, but Tony knew the trickster hated true darkness. No one who had to survive in the Void for any real length of time could come out being completely comfortable in pitch darkness. Hell, just being suspended in _regular_ space still gave Tony nightmares sometimes; he couldn’t even imagine what poor Loki had gone through.

“Where is he?”

_“He is in the bedroom.”_

Tony was already walking. “Is he _okay_?”

The man didn’t much care for the slight pause before his AI’s response.

_“Master Loki is safe and uninjured, Sir.”_

“Not exactly what I asked,” Tony mumbled as he approached the closed bedroom door.

The _locked_ bedroom door.

“Loki?” Tony tried the doorknob again, as if the lock would suddenly decide to change its mind for him. “You okay? I didn’t know you were home.”

Loki had gone off-world a few days prior. He had been all smiles, eager to cause some sort of mischief in another realm no doubt, and had promised to bring Tony back a souvenir when he returned. They had kissed and parted ways without incident. Now Tony wishes he could have gone with the mage.

A slightly muffled voice came through the door to interrupt his thoughts. “I am fine, Anthony.”

“Any particular reason I’m not allowed to see my own bed?”

A pause. “I would prefer to be alone right now, if you don’t mind.”

Tony sighed. “JARVIS? A little help?” he whispered with a nod toward the doorknob. He heard the lock give a light click. “Thanks.”

“Anthony, _please_ ,” Loki said sharply, clearly also having heard the door unlock. “Do not come in.”

Only Loki could make the man pause with his hand on the doorknob. Tony sighed and closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself for what was probably going to be a difficult night.

“What’s wrong, Lokes?”

“I am fine, I simply--”

“If you think that song and dance still works on me, then I’m a little insulted,” Tony said with a mild smirk that quickly faded. “Come on, Loki, what’s wrong?”

Silence.

“Okay,” the man sighed. “I’m coming in, alright?”

There was no verbal response. However, to Tony’s surprise, there was the soft sound of movement on the other side of the door and, as Tony opened it and walked into the room, he was greeted with the sound of the bathroom door closing sharply on the other side of the room. That was...interesting. Tony circled the bed, its blankets rumpled and dangling over one edge from where the god had clearly just fled, to reach the bathroom door. He knocked softly, but got no reply.

“Loki. Seriously, What’s wrong?”

A few moments passed before there was a hesitant response from the other side of the door.

“I do not wish to see you right now, Anthony. Please leave.”

“That’s fine. Can’t see anything with the entire apartment living in a black hole right now, so we’re good. Come on, Lokes, talk to me. I know you know I’m a stubborn asshole who’s not going anywhere. Why did you ask JARVIS to turn all the lights off?”

Another momentary silence.

“I had hoped you would keep to your workshop for some time yet,” Loki sighed on the other side of the door.

Tony stood quietly, staring at the doorknob and getting a very distinct case of Déjà vu. 

“Loki, Sweetheart...you have me really worried right now. Why can’t I see you?” Tony wet his lips, not liking how endless the possibilities could be with a creature like Loki. “Is it a spell gone wrong?”

More silence.

“Can we fix it?” Tony asked cautiously. 

There was the sound of a soft huff on the other side of the door. 

“Lokes…?”

“I’m afraid there’s no true fix for this, Anthony.”

Well, if that was supposed to help him calm down at all about the situation, it certainly didn’t work.

“What do you mean?”

Loki’s reply was slow, his voice low. Tony could hear the god’s hunched shoulders and pained eyes as he spoke and it made the man’s heart ache with each syllable. 

“I had a...mishap...and have, unfortunately, become victim to a rather _inconvenient_ curse.”

“ _Curse_? Are you okay? Lokes, seriously--open up!”

“I am in no danger, Anthony,” the trickster relented. “I’m just…” Loki sighed. “I had rather hoped you would never have to be exposed to this...side of me.”

“Okay, Bambi, you’ve lost me again, Honey. Let me see you...please? We can see if there’s something we can do to fix things.”

“You cannot fix this, Anthony. You can do a great many things, but this is different.”

“I don’t believe that,” Tony replied almost before the words could leave Loki’s mouth.

“Anthony--”

“No, I mean it. You’re the best mage in the universe, and I’m the best everything else. Whatever it is, we can figure it out, I promise.” He swallowed, his voice somber now. “ _Please_ let me in, Lokes.”

The room was silent again. Tony stood quietly in the dark, his shoulders slowly falling the longer Loki kept him at bay. His god was hurting, suffering from heavens knew what ailment, and Tony was stuck standing in his own bedroom like a useless ass.

_Click…_

Without another word, Tony pushed open the door. The bathroom was as dark as the rest of the penthouse. The faint outline of Loki’s horned helm could be seen from the reflective glow of the arc reactor now shining into the room. The god was turned away from Tony, sitting on the edge of the bathtub, feet inside, and his head was hung in a defeated pose that Tony knew was completely unfitting of the trickster’s larger-than-life personality and ego.

“Loki?”

“Hello, Anthony.”

Tony crossed the room carefully, reaching out to settle a gentle hand on his partner’s shoulder. The speed at which Loki’ muscles seized with his touch was heartbreaking. He wasn’t used to a physical connection resulting in anything but comfort between the two of them. Tony kept his hand in place regardless, adamantly refusing to let Loki think he would be frightened off by the god’s dramatic reveal of whatever horrible fate had befallen him.

“Any room left for me?”

Loki vaguely nodded to the open remainder of the bathtub’s edge, but said nothing. Tony took a seat, unable to help but notice how Loki looked away from him and kept his arms securely crossed over his chest. The arc reactor reflected off of the smooth surface of the bathtub, casting a faint but eerie blue glow in their little corner of the room.

“Loki,” Tony said quietly. “Why are you sitting in the dark?”

“I never wanted you to see me like this.”

“What, half in the bathtub while still in all your clothes? Because yeah, it’s kind of weird even for you.”

Tony sighed. “Anthony...please.”

“Well if you’re going to be so cryptic about everything, what else do I have to work with?” Tony squeezed the god’s shoulder reassuringly. “Lokes….Babe...talk to me. You’re scaring me.”

“I am sorry,” Loki replied after a moment. “You...recall that I was _adopted_ , yes?”

“Yeah.” Tony knew to tread lightly when it came to the topic of Loki’s... _involuntary adoption_. “What about it?”

Loki took in a deep breath before slowly, cautiously, turning to face his partner. Tony tried to temper his expression as he looked upon the god. Loki looked _off_. His eyes looked strange, darker, and now that he could see them a little better, the trickster looked like he had ridges running down his face and neck that Tony knew hadn’t been there before. Were they welts? His helm looked like it had new ridges, too. Had Loki faced some enemy that actually managed to get a few hits in that were strong enough to dent the trickster’s iconic headpiece?

They sat there together, staring at one another. Each of them seemed to expect the other to speak first. Loki frowned at Tony until his expression slowly melted into one of despairing worry. The inventor, meanwhile, was still trying to figure out what was making the mage look so troubled when Loki at last broke the silence. 

“Anthony...please, say something.”

Tony blinked, his mind quickly racing to figure out what it was Loki most needed to hear. He was always bad at this as a general rule, but something about Loki’s still partially shadowed expression made Tony additionally nervous about making things worse. Loki was clearly in distress, though he couldn’t figure out why. 

The mage had said he was under a curse, but Tony wasn’t sure what his boyfriend was getting at. What _was_ the curse that had Loki so worried? Was it an aversion to light, maybe? No, not unless the arc reactor was somehow the exception to the rule. What else could it be…?

“Anthony…?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know what you want me to say,” he helplessly answered. 

Loki looked absolutely dismayed and Tony knew he had to explain immediately, lest the mage disappear on him out of some sense of rejection. Loki always was prone to dramatics, even when in a good mood.

“I just don’t know what I’m supposed to comment on. Lokes, I can barely see you, and you won’t tell me what happened. You sit in the dark and tell me you’re cursed, and I’m just supposed to know what’s going on. Normally I like your puzzles, but this is a little much, don’t you think?”

Loki sighed, hanging his head ever so slightly in quiet thought. After a minute or so, he lifted a hand and offered a small but dismissive wave. “I see.” The god let out a small sigh of defeat. “Very well. JARVIS, you may turn the lights back on.”

The bathroom lights returned, though JARVIS was merciful enough to keep them low as to save their eyes from any sudden strain. Tony had, of course, expected to see Loki more clearly than he had by the light of his reactor. What he didn’t expect was the blue tint on Loki’s skin to remain after he was no longer illuminated by the device on his chest.

Yes, Loki was definitely still blue, a beautiful crisp blue from what looked to be head to toe. What Tony had thought was the god’s signature helm turned out to be anything but. The elegant horns, pale and delicately ridged, extended from the mage’s forehead, curving into the impressively intimidating arch that Tony already knew so well. Loki swallowed and turned to him, revealing eyes as red as blood itself, his irises just dark enough to be distinguished as such against the matching sclera. Thin but distinct ridges rested near them, curling across the trickster’s face and disappearing beneath the collar of his shirt. Loki’s words suddenly made sense, and Tony found himself unable to look away from the god’s enchantingly alien form.

“Huh.”

Loki frowned. “ _Huh_? Is that all you have to say, Anthony? I sit before you exposed for the grotesque monster that I truly am and all you can do is grunt?” he asked sharply.

Tony shook his head, blinking. “Wait, wait, what?”

The god’s vicious bite immediately disappeared and Loki quickly turned away. His darkened, claw-like fingernails anxiously dug into his trousers. 

“That is why there is little to be done,” Loki admitted in an uncharacteristically defeated tone. “ _This_ is my true form. I am jötunn. This is the flesh in which I was born. I try my best not to acknowledge that this is what lurks beneath my usual exterior, and yet...here I am, my glamour forcibly stripped away so all can see the true monster that lies beneath.” Red eyes closed in clear shame. “I am sorry, Anthony.”

“For what?”

Loki’s eyes reopened so he could stare at the mortal in surprised suspicion. Tony reached over and gently took up his boyfriend’s hand in his own. Loki stiffened with an apprehensive hiss before quickly looking simultaneously relieved and mildly surprised when nothing happened. Tony pulled Loki’s hand into his lap, curious at how chilled his beloved’s skin felt but ignoring it for the time being in favor of the emotional crisis at hand.

“So you’re all _Da ba dee_ with some horns,” Tony said quietly. “I don’t see anything grotesque, Lokes. You look like you fell in a bucket of paint...big deal. I’ve seen you turn into a snake, a cat, _Thor_...what’s so wrong with how you look right now?”

Loki stared at him in utter bewilderment. “Anthony...I am _jötunn_.”

“Oh, well that explains everything!” the man teased in an attempt to lighten the mood. Then, more quietly, “Seriously, though, Lo...I’m not really following your logic right now. So...you’re ‘ _jötunn_ ,’ which I’m guessing means this is how you’d normally look if the Alldaddy never found you. Am I right?”

Loki only nodded.

“So this is _you_.”

The god’s crimson eyes fell again. “Unfortunately.”

“Why unfortunately?”

Loki gave a heavy sigh. “Anthony, the Jötunn are beasts. Monsters under the bed who haunt--”

Okay, nope. Tony wasn’t about to listen to whatever was about to come out of Loki’s mouth next. He knew that the god had some severe issues when it came to his identity and self-worth despite the pompous bravado the trickster projected for the world to see. Tony didn’t know much about Jötunar or Asgardians, but he knew the psychological damage that shitty parenting and high expectations from birth could do to a person. Most importantly, Tony knew his Loki, and he wasn’t about to let the mage go down that dark road as long as he could do something about it.

“I’ve _never_ seen you under our bed,” Tony interjected. “Whatever you do when I’m not home is your business, but that’s besides the point.” He gave his boyfriend’s hand a squeeze. “ _Loki_ , so long as you’re still you, I don’t care what you look like. I don’t know shit about Jötunns or whatever. But I _did_ know you weren’t Asgardian when we got together. And I knew you sure as hell weren’t human. If this is what a jötunn looks like, then fine. Is this all there is to this curse thing?”

Loki stared at him. “Is this not enough?”

Tony shrugged. “From my point of view, the worst thing going on for you right now is that you’re never going to hear the end of jokes about ‘my horny boyfriend,’ so sorry not sorry for that.” Smiling, Tony raised Loki’s cool hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to the small ridge that disappeared up the god’s sleeve. 

“I...my appearance...does not disgust you?” Loki asked in quiet disbelief.

“Why would it?”

His beloved didn’t seem to have an answer. Loki stared at him in a rare moment of speechlessness.

“Bambi, yeah you’re blue, but you still look like _you_ , and you’re sexy as hell. Now you’ve just got handlebars to hold onto.” Tony snuck in a quick wink. “You’re still my Loki, and I don’t care if you’re tall, dark, and handsome, or if you’re a big sexy smurf so long as I’ve still got you.”

Loki was quiet for a moment, looking over Tony’s face before he gave the mortal’s hand a hesitant squeeze. “You...truly do not find my appearance—?”

“If you say _anything_ negative about yourself in the next half of the sentence you’re sleeping on the couch tonight.”

Tony’s heart soared when he saw the familiar look of indignation in Loki’s hypnotizingly red eyes. 

“You think you can banish me from my own bed?”

“There’s my Bambi!” Tony declared with a giant smile. He scooted close to his alien love, their thighs now pressed flush against one another. “Look, Sweetheart, I don’t care what color you are. I love you, okay? I find someone I care about and I don’t let go, I’m like a barnacle--just ask Rhodey. You can’t get rid of me that easy, curse or no curse. If you want to find a way to get your usual face back then fine, but don’t feel like you _have_ to to keep me. Okay?”

“You...truly do not mind that I…” Loki mumbled, the realization finally seeming to sink in.

“When have I ever minded anything?” Tony asked, making a face. “Besides, blue looks good on you.”

The man and the god sat quietly together for a minute or two after that. Tony watched the gears turn in Loki’s head as they did. He waited patiently through it, and offered the god a supportive smile when Loki turned back to face him once more.

“Thank you, Anthony.”

“No need, Lokes.” 

Tony leaned over and pressed a kiss to one of the ridges on Loki’s cheek. He couldn’t help but notice the shiver that ran down Loki’s body when he did so. Tony made sure to store that little tidbit for later.

“You are more accepting than most. But…Anthony, if I cannot find a way to reverse—”

“Then we’ll just have to find a suit that goes good with blue, that’s all.”

Loki made a face. “What?”

Tony smiled, his eyes tracing the beautiful pale horns he was now dying to stroke.

“A suit. I mean, traditional black will look great, obviously, but I doubt you’d want the shirt and tie to clash, right? And I mean, I totally planned on being decked out with Red and gold, but if we want to swap pallets, then—”

“Anthony, what are you yammering about?”

“The wedding, duh.”

Loki stilled. “The what?”

“Wedding.” Tony couldn’t keep himself from smiling. “Okay, so…I don’t technically have a ring yet, but JARVIS can back me up that I looked through, like, a million catalogs, but nothing looked like something you might like, so I was designing one down in the lab, but I wanted to make sure it’d be compatible with the nanotech _and_ your seiðr so I’ve been running some tests before I could actually _make_ the thing.”

“Anthony…”

“You’re gorgeous, Lokes. Inside and out, and…and if you’re willing to put up with me, I’d…like to stick around. If you’ll have me.”

“You would be willing…even if I stay…?”

“I told you,” Tony said with a definitive nod. “Blue looks good on you, Sweetheart. I love you, Loki. I know sitting on the edge of a bathtub isn’t the most romantic setting or anything, but…you _will_ marry me, right?”

Tony pretended to ignore the moisture glistening at the edge of Loki’s eyes as the god tried to regain his composure. He scooted as close as he could and wrapped an arm around the god’s waist. To his relief, Loki leaned into the embrace.

“I don’t know what I could have done to deserve you, Anthony Stark. But…I thank the Norns that you are mine.”

“So...that’s a yes, right? Please say that’s a yes.”

Loki snickered and nodded, his horns bowing gracefully with the motion. “It is.”

“Good, or what I’m about to do was going to be _really_ awkward otherwise,” Tony breathed before reaching up with his free hand and, palm on the back of Loki’s neck, dragged the hauntingly beautiful creature down for a kiss.

Tony could feel the brush of Loki’s horns against his hair and the sharpness of newly elongated incisors against his tongue made a chill run down his spine. But it was still Loki, _his_ Loki, and he thought the god was as gorgeous as ever. A curse was only really a curse if one thought of it as such, and Tony was going to make damn sure that his trickster would never feel blue about _being_ blue ever again.

**Author's Note:**

> I had originally written out this as a random scene that I wanted for...something. I just wasn't sure where to put it. I still don't, so...one-shot land it is, I guess. Whoops?


End file.
